A NASA X-ray astronomy space telescope called “Small Astronomy Satellite Explorer 53” was launched into space.
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Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members.
The first weather satellite (ESSA-1) was launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Soviet spacecraft Venera 9 went into Venus' orbit – making it the first to do so.
The USSR's Luna 15 robotic spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Europe's Planck spacecraft found evidence that our universe is 13.8 billion years old.
